"Yeni Musavat" Newspaper columnist and former Editor-in-Chief of “Khalg” Newspaper Mahal Ismayiloglu has filed an appeal against the verdict of the Absheron District Court. The Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety was told this by Media Rights Institute employee, lawyer Elchin Sadigov. In the appeal filed in the Sumgayit Appellate Court M.Ismayiloglu demands that he be justified, according to Sadigov.
On 27 June 2008, M. Ismayiloglu was called to a police department on the basis of a lawsuit filed against him by his neighbor Vahid Imanov’s servant. In the complaint it is alleged that the journalist beat his neighbor's servant for dumping trash in his yard. Therefore a criminal case was instituted against M. Ismayiloglu. On 1 July 2009 the journalist was found guilty under articles 127 (intentional infliction of minor severe bodily harm), 128 (intentional infliction of minor bodily harm) and 221.3 (hooliganism with use of a weapon or weapon-like item) of the Criminal Code and was sentenced to conditional imprisonment for two years.
Ismayiloglu claims that this incident never occurred and his neighbor is angry about articles that Ismayiloglu wrote, and the verdict against him is politically motivated.
Ismayiloglu claims that this incident never occurred and his neighbor is angry about articles that Ismayiloglu wrote, and the verdict against him is politically motivated.